{"id":162898,"date":"2023-01-18T11:50:38","date_gmt":"2023-01-18T16:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=162898"},"modified":"2023-01-19T13:15:53","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T18:15:53","slug":"plan-for-a-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2023\/01\/18\/plan-for-a-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan for a Journal"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
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Writing box, Auckland Museum,\u00a0via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>. Licensed under CC BY 4.0<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

In an interview collected in Ferdinando Camon’s\u00a0<\/em>Il mestiere di scrittore: conversazioni critiche\u00a0<\/span>(The Writer’s Craft: Critical Conversations),<\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Italo Calvino described a dream for \u201ca completely different sort of journal.\u201d This journal would be something more like the serialized novels of Dickens and Balzac, with writers working on commission on a wide range of topics and themes. It would employ the \u201cI\u201d of Saint Augustine and Stendhal. And it \u201cshould be a kind of<\/em>\u00a0<\/i><\/span>Peanuts\u00a0<\/i><\/span>but not a comic strip, serial novels with a lot of illustrations, an attractive layout.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

At the Review, we’re fascinated by ideas for what magazines can be<\/em>\u2014<\/b>no matter how outlandish. And so we were delighted when we came across Calvino’s four-page plan for a journal, from a typescript dated 1970, translated by Ann Goldstein and published below. It’s eclectic, wildly ambitious, smart but not too self-serious, and totally unrealized. What else could you ask for?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This journal will publish works of creative literature (fiction, poetry, theater) and essays on particular aspects and problems and tendencies exemplified by the works published in the same issue. It will follow the discourse of Italian literature as it unfolds, through the work of writers who are young or not so young, new or with something new to say.<\/p>\n

The journal will make it clear that it\u2019s a discourse\u2014many discourses together, which can be articulated in a general conversation\u2014that runs from book to book, from manuscript to manuscript, and will find the thread of this discourse even where it seems to be merely a messy tangle.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the right moment to try to \u201cget our bearings on\u201d many matters, and understand how we can move beyond. Many things have changed in the world in these years; Italy is also changing, and it is not very skilled at either renewing or preserving itself. (To hold on to the things you want to hold on to when all the rest is moving, all you can do is find the right way to move them.)<\/p>\n

So the journal will review the new relationship today between language and dialect; and the new relationship between the south and what is no longer the south or even in the south, and what of the south has moved into the north; and the new relationship between things that are important to say and the need to start speaking in verse at a particular moment; and the problem of inserting into the structure of the story as it has been evolving so far the rhythm of life of those who work in the big factories six days a week; and how at a certain point it became difficult to talk about the war; and how at a certain point it became difficult to talk about love; and how at a certain point it becomes difficult to talk about people with potentially high vitality and morality rather than about people who are slightly dull and slightly sad and slightly mediocre.<\/p>\n

These are all problems that can be profitably observed by the writer endowed with an independent poetic force, as well as by one endowed with merely an aptitude for bearing witness. And they are all very \u201cItalian\u201d problems, but precisely those which can compel us to break out of the shell of narrow local description in which Italian literature has a tendency to ossify.<\/p>\n

Not that things are better outside of Italy, however. At first glance we might say that the lively discourse about literature in Europe and America even shortly after the Second World War, a discourse about man\u2019s relationship with the world, a philosophical and moral and historical and civic discourse, which literature opposed to theoretical discourse as a way of verification or antithesis, this discourse\u2014entirely interrogative and voluntary\u2014seems stuck there. On the one hand there are tendencies like the French \u201cnew school\u201d that are too technical and seem to want to make literature conform to the type of problems\u2014more rigorous perhaps but much more limited\u2014that have so far belonged to the figurative arts; on the other are the young self-important champions of unconditional revolution like the Americans of the Beat generation. This is how it seems at first glance; but in reality there hasn\u2019t been a total burning of bridges (and abandonment of all the most fertile fields, for a new shore where there\u2019s little left to chew on). We believe that deep down that discussion continues, and that all the new facts\u2014French, English, American, Polish, Spanish, along with the Italians who are not so separate from this picture as they seem\u2014need only to be seen in perspective, not all flattened.<\/p>\n

We reject the image of a teeming, formless world of pure objectivity such as the overpopulated Earth might appear to the first Martian who arrives. We want the literature we\u2019d like to discover or invent to mirror earthly humanity intent on a new relationship between the individual, others, space, time, what exists, what doesn\u2019t exist, for when we find ourselves on the spaceship, on the interplanetary station, landing on Mars.<\/p>\n

Themes<\/em><\/p>\n

major functions:<\/em><\/p>\n

laughter
\nterror (false function: crying)
\njourney\u2014adventure\u2014initiation\u2014disorientation
\nEros
\nthe obscene
\naggression\u2014violence\u2014hatred
\nriddle
\nreintegration of justice\u2014reparation for a wrong\u2014redemption\u2014metamorphosis that establishes a new order<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

narrative strategy:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

beginning
\nend
\nsuspense
\ntime
\n\u201crhymes\u201d in fiction
\n\u201cstanzas\u201d in fiction<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

symbolic places:<\/em><\/p>\n

the forest
\nthe house
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0house from outside
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0house from inside
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0familiar house
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0hostile house
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0familiar house that becomes hostile
\n<\/em>the city
\nEden
\nHell
\njourney of initiation (elsewhere\u2014purgatory)
\nthe desert
\nthe crowd
\nreal places (what they can mean as novelistic and symbolic places): Chicago, Rome, Milan, Shanghai, sewers, the concentration camps, school, the stock exchange, et cetera<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

institutions<\/em>:<\/p>\n

description
\nlandscape
\nhow things are done (technical handbooks)
\ndialogue
\nconversation
\nthe definition of a character (human types)
\nmeditation
\nmonologue
\nthe dimension of memory<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

the I:<\/em><\/p>\n

Saint Augustine
\nStendhal<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

the character as:<\/em><\/p>\n

object of identification
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0exciting
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0narcissistic
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0ironic
\n<\/em>object of desire
\nobject of loathing
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0dramatic<\/em>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0comic<\/em>
\nprotective figure
\nthreatening figure<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

how to read:<\/em><\/p>\n

a spell
\na lullaby or nursery rhyme
\na myth
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0primitive<\/em>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0classical
\n<\/em>a fable
\na Buddhist legend
\na chanson de geste
\na historian
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0of antiquity<\/em>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0medieval
\n<\/em>a tragedy
\nclassical
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Elizabethan
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0classicistic
\n<\/em>nineteenth-century serial novel
\nromance novel
\nnonsense rhyme
\nnews item
\npolice report
\ncar accident with compensation claim to the insurance\u00a0agency
\nmemoirs of a general
\na \u201cclinical case\u201d
\nhow does the oral tradition survive today?
\nthe obscene joke
\nthe political joke<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

thus all types of stories not in a narrative form:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

horoscopes
\ngravestones
\nbestiaries herbals lapidaries<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

stories condensed into images:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

emblems
\ngenealogical trees
\nrebus
\nfortune-telling
\nex-votos
\nthe plates illustrating arts and crafts in the Encyclop\u00e9die<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

major stylistic categories:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

anthropomorphism
\nalienation
\nlinguistic aggression
\nobjectivity
\ntransparency\u2014depth<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

language:<\/em><\/p>\n

common language\u2014personal language
\nItalian
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0as a convention
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0as local moods
\n<\/em>the old-fashioned\u2014the modern<\/p>\n

The various themes can be exemplified by:<\/em><\/p>\n

(a) new Italian novel (serialized?) commissioned ad hoc
\n(b) recent foreign novel (serialized?) chosen ad hoc
\n(c) little-known classic or old popular novel et cetera (anthologized and summarized?)
\n(d) classic retold by a contemporary writer (commissioned)
\n(e) anthologized examples with didactic framework
\n(f ) bibliographical reviews<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In every issue there could be:<\/em><\/p>\n

(I) TEXTS
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(1) an episode of a
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(2) an episode of b
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(3) an episode of c
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(4) a d<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(b and c can be disregarded and can fill possible gaps in a. Anyway something new should begin in every issue. After three or four episodes, if the novel isn\u2019t finished, we can break it off and send readers back to the book.)<\/p>\n

(II) STORY AND NEWS STORY
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(5) a news item (death of Pinelli; Casati Stampa; Gadolla): three or more writers are asked to tell it
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(6) an area of Italian current affairs analyzed as a \u201cnarrative field\u201d: characters, settings, roles, actions, vocabulary, et cetera (e.g., the judiciary; Reggio Calabria; immigrants), assigned to one or more journalists
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(7) an area of international current affairs analyzed in light of the meanings it has for us (e.g., Israelis-Arabs-Bedouins in mutual exchanges of oppressed-oppressor functions): assigned to a semiologist, a geographer, a sociologist, a historian, et cetera<\/p>\n

(III) THEMES AND PROBLEMS
\nPresentations of themes or genres (see the list of themes and \u201chow to read\u201d) with anthologies of examples and bibliographical surveys. These themes or genres should be sorted (in the same issue or alternating) according to the subject they are most relevant to:<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(8) theme relevant to literature
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(9) theme relevant to popular literature
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(10) theme relevant to anthropology
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(11) theme relevant to the current sociological-political context
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(12) presentation of an author (with anthology and bibliography) (classic or popular or contemporary) relevant to one of the themes of the issue
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(13) an author or a literary fact that has nothing to do with our themes in the rest of the issue (for example: Francis Ponge) to create a contrast, open a completely different horizon of reading, to demonstrate that we could also be wrong or that the important things are completely different<\/p>\n

(IV) ILLUSTRATION
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(14) the great illustrators (from the nineteenth century), foreign and Italian
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(15) a contemporary graphic artist (invited to take up some pages with his offerings)
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(16) contemporary painters and the story: interview with a painter or sculptor (neo-Dada or Pop or neo-Expressionist, et cetera) to see the relationship of the artist\u2019s figurative world with writing, narrative, et cetera<\/p>\n

(V) THE BIBLIOPHILE\u2014THE COLLECTOR
\nThe general orientation of taste is toward popular editions, not luxury editions; we turn toward the collector of old Sonzogno editions.
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(17) how to collect books of \u2026<\/em>\u00a0(editions on the market; foreign editions; antiquarian)
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(18) presentation of a first edition of a classic that has a visual interest; or of a series; or of serialized novels et cetera
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>(19) presentation of a journal chosen from among the most important from the visual point of view (Minothaure<\/em>) or thematically interesting (La Ruota<\/em>, A. G. Bragaglia\u2019s pantheist journal)<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Translated by Ann Goldstein.<\/em><\/p>\n

To be published in a collection of Calvino\u2019s essays,<\/em> The Written World and the Unwritten World, in a new translation <\/em>from the Italian by Ann Goldstein, <\/em>by Mariner Classics in January 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n

The novels of Italo Calvino (1923\u20131985) include<\/em> Invisible Cities,<\/em> If on a winter\u2019s night a traveler, and<\/em> The Baron in the Trees. He also published\u00a0numerous collections of fiction, folktales, criticism, and essays.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Ann Goldstein has translated widely from Italian, including the works of Elena Ferrante, Primo Levi, Alessandro Baricco, and others.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201chow to read: a spell; a lullaby or nursery rhyme; a myth (primitive, classical); a fable; a Buddhist legend; a chanson de geste \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":532,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30442],"tags":[7682,67827,25136,8755,68582,10107],"class_list":["post-162898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-document","tag-diaries","tag-featured","tag-italian-literature","tag-italo-calvino","tag-on-editing","tag-on-writing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPlan for a Journal by Italo Calvino<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"January 18, 2023 \u2013 \u201chow to read: a spell; a lullaby or nursery rhyme; a myth (primitive, classical); a fable; a Buddhist legend; a chanson de geste \u2026\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2023\/01\/18\/plan-for-a-journal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Plan for a Journal by Italo Calvino\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"January 18, 2023 \u2013 \u201chow to read: a spell; 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